Dishwashers typically have upper and lower racks for holding objects to be washed. Rotatable spray arms are provided in the chamber for spraying water onto the objects for cleaning. Often times, one of the spray arms is positioned between the upper and lower racks, with a wash tube extending between the spray arm and the water manifold in the back wall of the washing chamber. The wash tube is connected to the upper rack and is adapted to dock to and undock from the water manifold, such that the wash tube and spray arm move with the rack between the extended loading position substantially outside of the wash chamber and the retracted wash position within the wash chamber.
The docking of the wash tube with the water manifold presents several problems in the prior art. First, the wash tube must be aligned with the manifold opening to allow for proper docking. While a tapered end on the wash tube has somewhat reduced the docking alignment problem, the flat or planer end of the wash tube still creates alignment problems.
Secondly, the flat end of the wash tube defines an opening or inlet which is in a plane parallel to the water flow in the water manifold. Thus, the flow of water from the manifold into the wash tube is not efficient. Also, the water in the wash tube is not at optimal pressure.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved wash tube for a dishwasher which overcomes the problems of the prior art.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a bullet ended wash tube to provide improved coupling of the wash tube with the water manifold in the rear of the dishwasher.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a wash tube having a first end which couples with the manifold, wherein the first end includes a cup for directing water from the manifold into the wash tube.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a wash tube having a first end with a downwardly oriented inlet.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved dishwasher wash tube which increases the water pressure from the water manifold to the spray arm.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved dishwasher wash tube which bottoms out on the rear inner surface of the water manifold without restricting the flow of water into the wash tube.
These and other objectives will be apparent from the following description of the invention.